The day started well. The colours of dawn spread across the sky – streaks of pinks, reds, oranges, mauves, yellows – a glorious sight. By the time I’d had my shower the sky had turned to a crystal clear icy looking blue. The lawns shone whitely through their frost coats. Certainly a good start to any day, not just one for celebrating the joy of Christmas.
I hope you all had a good day.
It’s a day for getting chores done. I’ve just got the week’s ironing out of the way.
Then I did my bit towards dinner.
First I got the chicken thighs out of the freezer to thaw. Then I skinned 15
tomatoes. The Fox is making a spicy Basque Chicken, a dish we’ve had several
times in France, even in Basque country. I do hope it goes well & brings
back memories of holidays in France, with French friends in this case. All that
remains is for me to choose a nice bottle of red wine to accompany the meal,
hopefully one that will enhance the meal while itself being enhanced by the
meal. Then I can just sit back, relax & enjoy Christmas
I sometimes think it would be nice to visit this area again. There is definitely something un-French about the area. I can see why the Basques have pleaded for their own separate country stretching across the present border into Spain, just as the Catalans want in the Eastern end of the Pyrenees. Land borders do sometimes seem arbitrary, a political construction which doesn’t always suit the locals.
Hendaye
Hendaye
Finally, I wish you all a
MERRY CHRISTMAS
Have a great time all of you
The CT scan is done. They assure me the results should arrive in time for my next appointment at oncology.
The scan went incredibly quickly. The staff recognised me from a previous visit. They remembered their difficulty putting in a cannula in me with the result she went in first time. They quickly went through all the questions, concerning allergies etc. I answered as quickly. They raced through the explanation of what was happening, knowing I could remember. All very quick. We were soon home, eating our scrambled eggs.
On a sadder note, I heard that my cousin Pat, the one with pancreatic cancer, died yesterday. In other times I would have gone to her funeral but Loughborough is a long way from here. We would have to have an overnight stay - no easy thing to find when so any places are shut down due to Covid-19 – let alone finding food. On top of which I may by then be starting trials with Christie’s. They certainly may be wanting me to self-isolate. We’ll just have to see. One of her daughters will ring to let me know when it is happening, so I can at least think & pray for her when the time comes.
Christmas seems such a miserable time for death to stalk. We seem to know, or know of, so many people have died at this time. Somehow the mourners, especially those very close to the deceased can never forget the association of the loss of their loved one & Christmas/New Year. The sadness of it all is exaggerated by the joyousness of so many other people around celebrating. I suppose it is inevitable. Christmas does come midwinter when days are dark, morale is low. It’s cold & miserable even in the best of years.
